Plasma antennas driven by 5–20 kHz AC power supply

The experiments described in this work were performed with the aim of introducing a new plasma antenna that was excited by a 5–20 kHz alternating current (AC) power supply, where the antenna was transformed into a U-shape. The results show that the impedance, voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR), radiation pattern and gain characteristics of the antenna can be controlled rapidly by varying not only the discharge power, but also by varying the discharge frequency in the range from 5 to 20 kHz. When the discharge frequency is adjusted from 10 to 12 kHz, the gain is higher within a relatively broad frequency band and the switch-on time is less than 1 ms when the discharge power is less than 5 W, meaning that the plasma antenna can be turned on and off rapidly.